DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 5: The former North America representative Penpa Tsering refuted all the allegations against him saying they are “false, incomplete and manipulative,” at a press conference here today. He said that while the executive body of the Central Tibetan Administration led by Dr. Lobsang Sangay has the authority to terminate him, he rejects the allegations which he said was an “attempt to malign his image.”

The row over the termination of Penpa Tsering’s tenure in Washington office began on Nov. 7 when the Kashag made a public announcement that former education minister Ngodup Tsering will be the new NA envoy. Later the Kashag made public a 10-point statement which cited growing “performance and trust deficit” as well as “insubordination” by Penpa Tsering.

The former Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in exile today said that he couldn’t respond sooner to the allegations as he was bound by regulations not to speak out while being a staff of the CTA. He shared a 97-page document that included official correspondences, some of which appeared confidential.

In response to the Kashag’s allegation of ‘trust deficit’, he said that it was the Sangay led Kashag which portrayed reluctance in trusting him. Tsering said two additional Directors for the TCDF (Tibetan Community Development Fund), including a close aide of the President, were added just two months into his tenure and that he was kept in the dark on matters related to US government funding under the PRM and USAID initiatives despite reaching out to President Sangay on the matters. He also said that his office was not notified on a few occasions when the President or a member of the cabinet visited the North America on official schedule.

Penpa Tsering said that he categorically refutes 'lack of performance' allegation as he had left no stones unturned as far as output of his office is concerned. Responding to the charges of failure to set up key meetings with officials of the US government, he said that his office had approached concerned offices through official mails but that the meetings could not materialize due to scheduling conflicts. He added that closure of the bank accounts was a political move that no one could have avoided, he said while addressing the allegation over the warning by a prominent bank to close several accounts under the OoT. He backed his claims with copies of the correspondence to the media. “Was any of my predecessors charged for not being able to set up meetings for the President?” Tsering questioned.

The former NA envoy also said he does not accept the “insubordination” allegations against him. Addressing the incidents cited by the Kashag, he said Chinese liaison officer Kunga Tashi’s appointment was not finalized and he told the public that such appointment was subject to Kashag’s.

On the loan debacle concerning the Tibet Fund and OoT, the former Speaker said the President first raised the issue in the ten point statement and that any problems arising out of it for the CTA or chaos amongst the public will be the responsibility of the Kashag.

He shared a copy of the “Promissory note,” an internal agreement between the OoT and Tibet Fund. He said that the non profit organization continued to show the amount of 1.5 million USD as loan despite the President’s insistence that “it was not a loan” and that such back door agreements with an organization based in a foreign land is a breach of the Tibetan Charter’s article 6 where compliance to the laws of the host nation is stressed clearly. Penpa Tsering said it was his duty to question such discrepancies and does not consider such acts as insubordination.

Through the three hours fifty-minute press conference, the former NA envoy reiterated that he had not breached any rules and regulations of the exile Tibetan administration and called on the Kashag to speak out on any specific breaches.